For the uninitiated, during their tenure on One Direction, fans of the band were convinced that Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson were secretly dating each other. Fans “shipped” the pair together, creating the moniker Larry Stylinson, and they wrote fan fiction and created fan art that often depicted the pair in romantic and sexual scenarios. Indeed, if you head to YouTube you’ll find a plethora of fan videos with “evidence” that the relationship was, in fact, real.

While it might seem like harmless fun from a devoted fan group, Larry Stylinson did actually have an impact on the bandmates’ lives.

“I’ve never actually been asked about it directly,” Louis said after. “It’s a funny thing. People can believe what they want to believe, but I just think it comes across some times as a little bit disrespectful, to the ones that I love, like [my current girlfriend] Eleanor.”

Louis went on to say that, like many conspiracy theories, the story was baseless. However, unlike those theories, this one had a direct impact on his friendship with his former bandmate.

"I'm so protective over things like that, about the people I love. So it created this atmosphere between the two of us where everyone was looking into everything we did," he said. "It took away the vibe you get off anyone. It made everything a little bit more unapproachable. I think [what's happened since] shows that it was never anything 'real' if I can use that word."